sexta-feira, 11 de janeiro de 2013

Cesar Chavez Park – Phoenix, AZ

On July 13, 2011, in association with Street League Skateboarding™,
the Rob Dyrdek Foundation celebrated the official opening of Phoenix’s
first skate plaza in Laveen, located at Cesar Chavez Park.
The Rob Dyrdek Foundation donated $50,000 for the design and
construction of the park in 2010. Designed by California Skateparks, a
world-renowned skate park design firm, the new skate plaza has many
skateable elements typically found in an urban environment. At more than
10,000 square feet of skateable terrain, the design consists of a
network of five interesting pathways that stretch through the park’s
landscape and spread out almost an acre of land.
The Cesar Chavez skateplaza is part of Rob Dyrdek Foundation’s “Safe
Spot Skate Spot” program. Conceptualized by Rob Dyrdek, The Safe Spot
Skate Spot program seeks to create safe and legal havens for skaters by
construing urbanized plazas in preexisting city parks across the
country. The main goals of the program are to provide communities with
safe, and legal skate plazas, increase and encourage the active
engagement of people in the sport of skateboarding, and design and
develop skate plazas in municipalities throughout the world.
Additionally, the program provides an alternative option for communities
with limited budgets or space restrictions to develop real
street-skating locations.
“I’m extremely proud to partner with Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilmember
Michael Nowakowski and the Department of Parks and Recreation to help
build a world class skateplaza at Cesar Chavez Park,” said Roy Dyrdek,
the Foundation’s Founder and President. “The City of Phoenix has done a
tremendous job of welcoming us, and I am honored that both Street League
Skateboaring and the Rob Dyrdek Foundation have helped to continue the
City’s strong commitment to the skateboarding community by building more
safe and legal skateplazas.”
“As a resident of Laveen, I’m excited to see a new amenity at Cesar
Chavez Park,” said Delia Ortega-Nowakowski, a member of the city’s Parks
and Recreation Board. “Our community is one of the fastest-growing in
the city and we were in need of a place for youth to be able to skate
legally.”
The skatespot was heavily influenced by modern Airzona architecture
and themed around the 2010 Arizona Street League event. It incorporates
elements and details from last years design, including repurposed
features like the floating hubba ledges and the bench with flat bar. The
skate plaza is open to skateboards and in-line skates and the hours of
operation are from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. For more information on
the skate plaza, contact the District 7 Office at 602-262-7492.